Case Study: When the Brand is Flawless, the Packaging Has to Be, Too

Take a beautiful Hollywood actress passionate about creating great hair days for women with textured hair. Then add an increasingly diverse U.S. population with a growing demand for beauty products focused on multicultural consumers. The result? Flawless™ by Gabrielle Union, a unique haircare line created specifically for textured hair needs.

Available online and exclusively through Ulta Beauty stores nationwide, the Flawless line features key ingredients for the health-conscious. Ingredients include avocado, argan and marula oils, the latter of which also creates jobs for indigenous women in South Africa who source the oil.

Adding to the luxury impact of the new Flawless by Gabrielle Union beauty brand is its standout packaging. The line features a unique “Flawless blue” color that bespeaks prestige. A gold bar and a logo with an intertwined G and U add high end, minimalist style to the brand. To maximize the aesthetic impact of the blue packaging, Flawless designers wanted a no-label look for the entire line.

“We saw the label as key to the design,” says Andy Rah, Vice President of Global Marketing at Flawless Beauty, LLC. “Its appealing simplicity reflects the authenticity of the products, which are based on popular home hair remedies and are meant to work together to achieve a wide variety of styles.”

To realize its vision, Flawless turned to Plano, Texas converter McDowell Label (mcdowelllabel.com). McDowell, a global printer of heat shrink sleeves, decorative labels and flexible packaging, has been recognized with over 500 national and international awards for printing excellence, innovation and design.

McDowell’s solution was to create a UV rotary screen print label using the Avery Dennison (averydennison.com) 3.0 Mil MDO clear film and S692N adhesive. According to McDowell president John McDowell, it was the best solution for a very challenging application.

“The Flawless by Gabrielle Union line includes full squeeze tubes, jars and HDPE bottles. The Avery Dennison fully conformable films have the clarity, strength and stability needed to conform to the various shapes and sizes while performing to our high standards,” says McDowell. “Better still, the 3.0 Mil MDO clear film provides the robust surface energy we need to successfully screen print the full range of opaque colors. And the S692N adhesive wets out beautifully.”

As a virtual brand owner, Flawless Beauty, LLC uses a variety of contract manufacturers and different co-packers with varying technologies. The challenge for McDowell was delivering a label that would work for all. “It’s not about speed – it’s about being deliberate; employing our resources and due diligence,” notes McDowell. “Being an intrinsic partner to brand & product development, we vet out all the necessary brand-essence and fitness-for-use criteria. That’s how we deliver a cradle-to-grave solution that serves the life-cycle metric for the packaging engineer, the brand manager, and even the various co-packers as the product line scales.”

Gabrielle Union plans a hands-on approach to the company. The Being Mary Jane actress plans to visit key Ulta Beauty stores, tradeshows and other beauty events to put a real face to Flawless and promote the brand.

Avery Dennison manufactures and distributes display graphics, labeling and packaging materials, retail graphic embellishments and RFID tags that companies around the world use to engage customers and efficiently manage their inventories. The company’s functional pressure-sensitive adhesive label and packaging materials enhance shelf-appeal of food, beverages, health and beauty products while providing consumers with important information. Avery Dennision draws on the latest scientific advancements and years of manufacturing expertise to deliver coated and uncoated papers, films and foil roll materials that meet customers’ diverse needs and requirements. Visit http://label.averydennison.com.

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